Active Pause

Linda Ciotola talks about how she practices and teaches mindful eating. This conversation is available as a podcast and as a printable PDF transcript.

See also self-coach-tool for this practice (and its printable PDF): Mindful Eating.

Linda Ciotola is a Certified TEP: trainer-educator-practitioner of psychodrama, group psychotherapy, and sociometry; and an accredited Certified Trainer in the Therapeutic Spiral Model ™ of psychodrama used specifically for working with trauma survivors. She is Co-Leader and Developer of the Therapeutic Spiral Bodyworkshop specifically designed for healing body-based trauma issues and a Certified Health Education Specialist (Ret.) with 45 years experience in education, group facilitation, and lifestyle counseling. Linda holds ACE (American Council on Exercise) certifications as a Personal Trainer, Fitness and Yoga Instructor, Health Coach and MINDBODY Specialist. She was honored in 2008 with the Zerka Moreno Award for outstanding contributions to the field of Psychodrama. She is co-author with Karen Carnabucci of Healing Eating Disorders with Psychodrama and Other Action Methods – Beyond the Silence and the Fury. She presents widely at regional, national and international conferences. See her website.

Published January 2017 – See other conversation with Linda Ciotola 

In this 6-minute video, Russell Delman shares his perspective on how we can find gratitude within ourselves, even under difficult circumstances.

Russell Delman’s dedication to the study of awareness and human potential began in 1969 as a college undergraduate. The main influences on his teaching are over 40 years of Zen meditation, his close relationship and training with Moshe Feldenkrais (he has helped to train over 2500 Feldenkrais teachers worldwide), a deep study of somatic psychology including Focusing, and his rich family life. Over the last seven years, his friendship with Gene Gendlin has illuminated his understanding of life and had a strong influence on his teaching. See his website.

See other conversation with Russell Delman 

Published November 2016

Karen Liebenguth talks about how she practices mindfulness in nature. This conversation is available as a video, as well as audio only, and as a printable PDF transcript.

See also self-coach-tool for this practice (and its printable PDF): Coming back to our senses.

Karen is a qualified coach, a Focusing practitioner and an accredited mindfulness teacher. She works with individuals and organisations to foster personal development and specialises in working with clients outdoors in London’s parks and green space where she believes insight, change and creativity can happen most naturally. Karen regularly runs mindfulness courses, workshops and walks. Her joys in life are being in nature, Buddhist practice, living simply and communally and friendships. Karen is German and has lived in London for 15 years. If you have a question or would like to talk more with Karen about her approach, feel free to contact her: www.greenspacecoaching.com

Published November 2016

We think of mindfulness as a solitary or inner pursuit. What about what happens in interaction? In this conversation we are talking about how to approach human interaction as a form of mindfulness where we are noticing our innate reactivity and gaining access to a more evolved part of ourselves, and how in doing so we are transforming our sense of self and our relationships with others.

This conversation is available as a video, as well as audio only, and as a printable PDF transcript.

Barbara Dickinson finished a long career at the US Federal Reserve in 2010, and now consults on strategic organizational improvement. She has earned, among other credentials, certification as a Strengths Performance Coach from the Gallup Organization. In 2006, she learned the practice called Focusing, completing her certification as a Focusing Professional in 2009, and is now an enthusiastic learner and teacher of the many facets of focusing and the related practice, “Thinking at the Edge.” After volunteering her services to The Focusing Institute as a management consultant in 2011 and 2012, Barbara decided to share her expertise more widely as a strengths-oriented consultant interested in helping especially non-profit organizations innovate, think and work at their “edge,” improve emotional intelligence and build better teams. Barbara lives in New Jersey with Holly, her Jack Russell Terrier.

See also other conversations and articles about Focusing

Published October 2016

In this video, we spend a mindful moment with Caterina Carta as she reflects on flowing with life and dealing with life’s challenges, her illness and chemo, what we mean by meaning, and what it’s like to feel a sense of connection to something larger.

Caterina Carta works as High School teacher and Focusing-oriented counselor and trainer in Sardinia, Italy. After different occupations in sustainable tourism as trainer and consultant, she decided to come back to her first job as school teacher. She builds relationships with her students in a deep and authentic way supporting them to discover and follow their own dreams. “Teaching in a playful way” is her motto. Since 1996, she has been committed to personal growth, conflict resolution and meditation. As she met Focusing, she recognized something precious which changed her relationship with herself. She especially appreciated it during some challenges in her life where Focusing accompanied her in a gentle way, helping her to see new perspectives. She is grateful to Eugene Gendlin and to those who are spreading Focusing to the world. She likes travelling, hiking, practicing Tai Chi and being in nature.

Published August 2016. 

In this video, we spend a mindful moment with Caterina Carta as she reflects on flowing with life and dealing with life’s challenges, her illness and chemo, what we mean by meaning, and what it’s like to feel a sense of connection to something larger.

Audio only:

Caterina Carta works as High School teacher and Focusing-oriented counselor and trainer in Sardinia, Italy. After different occupations in sustainable tourism as trainer and consultant, she decided to come back to her first job as school teacher. She builds relationships with her students in a deep and authentic way supporting them to discover and follow their own dreams. “Teaching in a playful way” is her motto. Since 1996, she has been committed to personal growth, conflict resolution and meditation. As she met Focusing, she recognized something precious which changed her relationship with herself. She especially appreciated it during some challenges in her life where Focusing accompanied her in a gentle way, helping her to see new perspectives. She is grateful to Eugene Gendlin and to those who are spreading Focusing to the world. She likes travelling, hiking, practicing Tai Chi and being in nature.

Published August 2016. 

In this conversation, Eric Zimmer talks about mindful choices, and the parable that inspires him:

A grandfather is talking with his grandson and he says there are two wolves inside of us which are always at war with each other. One of them is a good wolf which represents things like kindness, bravery and love. The other is a bad wolf, which represents things like greed, hatred and fear.

The grandson stops and thinks about it for a second then he looks up at his grandfather and says, “Grandfather, which one wins?” The grandfather quietly replies: The one you feed.

Eric Zimmer is the host of The One You Feed podcast. The show was named a Best of 2014 Podcast by iTunes and one of the best health podcasts of all time by The Huffington Post. The show is about creating a life worth living and can be found at http://oneyoufeed.net. At the age of 24 Eric was homeless, addicted to heroin and facing looming jail sentences. In the years since he has found a way to recover from addiction and build a life worth living. In addition to the podcast he does coaching work with numerous individuals and companies. He has been involved in many successful startup companies in the software and clean energy industries. He also founded Tipping Point Renewable Energy in 2008.

Published May 2016

In this conversation, we talk about ‘Contemplative Thinking’: How it differs from what we usually describe as ‘thinking’, and how it fosters creativity.

Three phases are described:

Pause: Unless we pause, we tend to keep going on the same track with our blinders on. Think about the cartoon situation of the character walking off the edge of the cliff, not realizing they’re no longer on firm ground.

Orienting: We make a deliberate effort to pay attention to our body, not just to thoughts. Not that thoughts are bad… But we’re depriving ourselves of much of our processing ability if we cut off our body.

Getting out of our own way: Instead of trying very hard, as if we were trying to squeeze ideas out of a tube, we gently allow ‘felt sense’ information (e.g. intuition, hunch, insight) to come up from inside.

‘Contemplative Thinking’ occurs naturally. What helps us get better at it is to observe it when it happens, so that we become more aware of it.

In case you want to come back to specific explanations of this process after listening to the podcast as a whole, see:

– Description of the 3 phases: From 18’45” to 20’50”

– How this is not just a shift in intentionality, it is a different body experience that allows fresh thinking: From 21’00” to 25’30”

– How this applies to real life, in real-time: From 25’30” to 34’00”

By the way, this recorded conversation is an instance of creative thinking fostered by an environment that is safe and stimulating. David’s presence and his way of holding the space made it possible for me (Serge) to go further into the concepts than I had before, with a sense of effortlessness, as if I was observing their unfolding and describing it,

David I. Rome is the developer of Mindful Focusing, an integration of Eugene Gendlin’s Felt-Sense Focusing and Buddhist mindfulness-awareness practices (http://www.mindfulfocusing.com). He is the author of Your Body Knows the Answer; Using Your Felt Sense to Solve Problems, Effect Change, and Liberate Creativity (Shambhala Publications, 2014). David currently serves as board president for the Focusing Institute. Earlier in his career, David studied Buddhism and trained in meditation and other contemplative practices with Chogyam Trungpa Rinpoche, whom he also served as a private secretary for many years.

Published April 2016. See also conversation on Mindful Focusing.

In this conversation, we talk about ‘Contemplative Thinking’: How it differs from what we usually describe as ‘thinking’, and how it fosters creativity.

In case you want to come back to specific explanations of this process after listening to the podcast as a whole, see:

– Description of the 3 phases: From 18’45” to 20’50”

– How this is not just a shift in intentionality, it is a different body experience that allows fresh thinking: From 21’00” to 25’30”

– How this applies to real life, in real-time: From 25’30” to 34’00”

By the way, this recorded conversation is an instance of creative thinking fostered by an environment that is safe and stimulating. David’s presence and his way of holding the space made it possible for me (Serge) to go further into the concepts than I had before, with a sense of effortlessness, as if I was observing their unfolding and describing it,

David I. Rome is the developer of Mindful Focusing, an integration of Eugene Gendlin’s Felt-Sense Focusing and Buddhist mindfulness-awareness practices (http://www.mindfulfocusing.com). He is the author of Your Body Knows the Answer; Using Your Felt Sense to Solve Problems, Effect Change, and Liberate Creativity (Shambhala Publications, 2014). David currently serves as board president for the Focusing Institute. Earlier in his career, David studied Buddhism and trained in meditation and other contemplative practices with Chogyam Trungpa Rinpoche, whom he also served as a private secretary for many years.

Published April 2016. See also conversation on Mindful Focusing.

In this video conversation with Beatrice Blake, we talk about how to think out of the box: Instead of just relying on linear logic, how we can use all of our resources in a mindful way.

We hope you are inspired by this conversation to experiment with a Mindful Listening Partnership. In addition to the above video, you may find it helpful to:

– watch 5-minute video on Mindful Listening Partnerships,

– read Mindful Listening Partnership FAQ.

This Creative Listening Partnership is based on the principles of Focusing and Thinking At the Edge (TAE). Once you experience how naturally this process works, you may want to find out more.

Originally trained as a Doctor of Oriental Medicine, Beatrice Blake has been a Certified Focusing trainer since 2000. She offers individual and small group classes for people who want to learn how to think from their own lived experience. Beatrice offers free half-hour introductory sessions online.  She also teaches “Generating a Culture of Peace”, combining Nonviolent Communication and Focusing. Find out more at http://possibility-space.com. In Spanish at http://focusingelsalvador.org.

Published April 2016